Project No 75
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THE LAW REFORM COMMISSION OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA Project No 75 United Kingdom Statutes in Force in Western Australia REPORT OCTOBER 1994 The Law Reform Commission of Western Australia was established by the Law Reform Commission Act 1972. Commissioners Chairman Mr P G Creighton BJuris (Hons) LLB (Hons) (WA) BCL (Oxford) Members Dr P R Handford LLB (Birm) LLM PhD (Camb) Ms C J McLure BJuris (Hons) LLB (Hons) (WA) BCL (Oxford) Officers Executive Officer and Director of Research Dr P R Handford LLB (Birm) LLM PhD (Camb) Research Officers Mr M G Boylson LLB (WA) Mr A A Head LLB (WA) Staff Mrs S K Blakey Ms K L Chamberlain Mr L McNamara BA (Murdoch) Ms M A Ryan The Commission's offices are on the 11th floor, London House, 216 St George's Terrace, Perth, Western Australia, 6000. Telephone: (09) 481 3711. Facsimile: (09) 481 4197. To: HON C L EDWARDES MLA ATTORNEY GENERAL In accordance with the provisions of section 11(3)(b) of the Law Reform Commission Act 1972, I am pleased to present the Commission's report on United Kingdom statutes in force in Western Australia. P G CREIGHTON, Chairman 25 OCTOBER 1994 CONTENTS Paragraph Table of abbreviations CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1. Terms of reference 1.1 2. Status of inherited United Kingdom statutes 1.3 3. Developments elsewhere 1.4 4. The Commission's approach (a) Use of work done in other jurisdictions 1.5 (b) Consultation 1.7 (c) Re-enactment of statutes 1.8 (d) Statutes of historical interest 1.9 (e) Statutes preserved pending review 1.10 (f) Appendix I 1.11 CHAPTER 2 IMPLEMENTATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS 1. The basic approach 2.1 2. Incorporation into existing legislation 2.3 3. No clawback clause 2.4 4. Saving clauses 2.5 Appendix I - Inherited United Kingdom statutes examined by the Commission Appendix II - Note on the compilation of Appendix I Appendix III - List of those who commented on the Draft Report Index of statutes considered in Appendix I Table 1 - Chronological list Table 2 - Analysis of the Commission's recommendations Table of Abbreviations ACT 1986 Act Imperial Acts (Substituted Provisions) Act 1986 (ACT) ACT 1988 Act Imperial Acts (Repeal) Act 1988 (ACT) ACTAG'S Report Australian Capital Territory Attorney General's Department Law Review Program Audit of ACT and NSW Law Reform Initiatives (1993) ACT Report Law Reform Commission of the Australian Capital Territory Report on Imperial Acts in Force in the Australian Capital Territory and Supplementary Report (1973) Adams P R Adams QC The Law of Real Property and Conveyancing in Western Australia (1950) Bradbrook A J Bradbrook, S V MacCallum and A P Moore Australian Real Property Law (1991) CCH The CCH Macquarie Concise Dictionary of Modern Law (1988) Holdsworth W Holdsworth A History of English Law (1971 reprint) Jowitt Jowitt's Dictionary of English Law (2nd ed 1977) Kewley G Kewley Report on the Imperial Acts Application Act 1922 (1974- 1975) NSW Act Imperial Acts Application Act 1969 (NSW) NSW Report Law Reform Commission of New South Wales Application of Imperial Acts (LRC 4 1967) NZ Act Imperial Laws Application Act 1988 (NZ) NZ Report New Zealand Law Commission Imperial Legislation in Force in New Zealand (Report No 1 1987) NZ Property New Zealand Law Commission A New Property Law Act Law Report (Report No 29 1994) Plucknett T F T Plucknett A Concise History of the Common Law (1956) PNG Report R S O'Regan English Statutes in Papua New Guinea (1973) Qld Act Imperial Acts Application Act 1984 (Qld) Qld Paper Queensland Law Reform Commission Working Paper in Relation to an Examination of the Imperial Statutes in Force in Queensland (QLRCWP 23 1979) Sask Report Law Reform Commission of Saskatchewan The Status of English Statute Law in Saskatchewan (1990) SA54 Law Reform Committee of South Australia Report on the Inherited Imperial Statute Law in this State Relating to the Topics of Property, Trusts, Uses, Equity and Wills (Report No 54 1980) SA55 Law Reform Committee of South Australia Report Relating to the Inherited Imperial Statute Law on Practice and Procedure in this State (Report No 55 1980) SA58 Law Reform Committee of South Australia Report On the Inherited Imperial Statute Law with regard to Proceedings in Summary Jurisdiction (Report No 58 1981) SA59 Law Reform Committee of South Australia Report in Respect of Imperial Laws Application Within This State in Relation to the Criminal Law (Report No 59 1980) SA61 Law Reform Committee of South Australia Report Relating to the Inherited Imperial Law and the Civil Jurisdiction and Procedure of the Supreme Court (Report No 61 1980) SA64 Law Reform Committee of South Australia Report Relating to the Reform of the Law on Wills and Intestacies (Report No 64 1983) SA65 Law Reform Committee of South Australia Report Relating to the Inherited Imperial Law Regarding the Crown (Report No 65 1981) SA68 Law Reform Committee of South Australia Report Relating to the Inherited Imperial Law on Gaming and Wagering in South Australia (Report No 68 1982) SA78 Law Reform Committee of South Australia Report Dealing with Disparate Subjects in the Inherited Imperial Law (Report No 78 1984) SA79 Law Reform Committee of South Australia Dealing with the Inherited Imperial Law (Report No 79 1984) SA80 Law Reform Committee of South Australia Report Relating to the Inherited Imperial Law (Report No 80 1984) SA81 Law Reform Committee of South Australia Report Relating to the Demise of the Crown (Report No 81 1984) SA86 Law Reform Committee of South Australia Report Dealing with the Inherited Imperial Law Between 1781 and 1800 (Report No 86 1984) SA89 Law Reform Committee of South Australia Report Dealing with the Inherited Imperial Law Between 1801 and 1820 (Report No 89 1984) SA91 Law Reform Committee of South Australia Dealing with the Inherited Imperial Law Between 1821 and 1836 (Report No 91 1985) SA94 Law Reform Committee of South Australia Report Relating to Qui Tam and Penal Actions and Common Informers (Report No 94 1985) SA96 Law Reform Committee of South Australia Report Relating to the Inherited Imperial Law and Constitutional Statutes (Report No 96 1985) SA102 Law Reform Committee of South Australia Report Relating to the Inherited Imperial Law and to Statutes Previously Covered by the Colonial Laws Validity Act 1865 (Report No 102 1986) UK Report The Law Commission Statute Law Revision: First Report (Law Comm No 22 1969) Vic 1922 Act Imperial Acts Application Act 1922 (Vic) Vic Act Imperial Acts Application Act 1980 (Vic) VSLRC Victorian Statute Law Revision Committee Report on the Imperial Acts Application Bill, Imperial Law Re-enactment Bill and the Constitutional Powers (Request) Bill (1979) The pronouns and adjectives "he", "him" and "his", as used in this report, are not intended to convey the masculine gender alone, but include also the female equivalents "she", "her" and "hers". Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 1. TERMS OF REFERENCE 1.1 The Commission has been asked: "To review the Imperial Acts in force in this State at the time of its founding and to recommend which of those still in force should be repealed and which should be re- enacted (whether in the same or different form) by the Parliament of Western Australia." 1.2 Statutes enacted in the United Kingdom may have become part of the law of Western Australia in three main ways -1 1. Statutes of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of general application in force on 1 June 18292 were inherited if they were suitable for local conditions.3 2. Statutes of the Parliament of the United Kingdom may have become part of the law of Western Australia by virtue of provisions in the Acts themselves. These Acts are commonly referred to as applying by "paramount force". Since the passage of the Australia Acts 19864 this type of legislation can be amended or repealed by a statute of the Parliament of Western Australia. The Australia Acts 1986 also terminate the power of the Parliament of the United Kingdom to legislate for Western Australia.5 3. Statutes of the Western Australian Parliament may expressly adopt or apply, in whole or part, United Kingdom statutes by merely referring to the statutes.6 1 In addition, statutes of the Western Australian Parliament may repeat, in whole or part, the terms of statutes enacted in the United Kingdom for application in England and Wales. 2 See Interpretation Act 1984 s 73. 3 See Quan Yick v Hinds (1905) 2 CLR 345, 356 per Griffith CJ; Rogers v Squire (1978) 23 ALR 111, 116. 4 Australia Act 1986 (UK) s 3. Australia Act 1986 (Cth) s 3. 5 Australia Act 1986 (UK) s 1. Australia Act 1986 (Cth) s 1. 6 For example, s 1 of the Imperial Acts Adopting Ordinance 1867 lists a number of statutes of the Parliament of Great Britain and provides: 2 / United Kingdom Statutes in Force in Western Australia In accordance with the Commission's terms of reference, only statutes in the first category and those in the second category coming into force before 1 June 1829 are examined in this Report. 2. STATUS OF INHERITED UNITED KINGDOM STATUTES 1.3 Most inherited United Kingdom statutes have been repealed, expressly or impliedly, by statutes of the Parliament of Western Australia7 or the Commonwealth8 in the century and a half since Western Australia was founded, or have been simply forgotten due to lack of relevance or use. Those that have not been repealed are still in force even if they are in a state of disuse. A number of statutes still in force, such as the Statute of Frauds 1677, are still an important part of the law of Western Australia.